Monthly Archives: July 2015
Why Oculus is Helping Fund Rift-Exclusive Games
There's a very specific reason why Oculus is investing in its own Rift-exclusives.
Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey recently explained in a Reddit AMA why the company was opting to fund exclusives, outlining the Oculus Rift as more of a platform than just a hardware peripheral.
"These exclusive titles, in many ways, essentially are first party titles," he wrote. "They are funded by us, we have our own staff working on them, and they are optimized around our launch timeline and tech stack. The only difference is that we chose to work with third parties to make them successful instead of competing with them through our own first party teams."
World of Warships: The Challenge of Being ‘The Son of a Genius’
It's clear he's hesitant to admit it, but Ivan Moroz knows that Worlds of Tanks' success was Wargaming.net's main adversary in the journey to launch the open beta for World of Warships. Moroz, director of World of Warships' global operations, initially believed it would be so simple – they'd just take the same formula and apply it to the other death machines of the world wars. "We thought we could just reproduce this, this, and this, and we'd have the next hit," he says.
But something happened during alpha testing just under two years ago. Players claimed they loved World of Warships, but after just 20 or 30 sessions they'd set it aside and never come back. It was a dangerous pattern that Moroz had already seen hints of after the official launch of World of Warplanes, and he and the team were determined not to let it happen again. As risky as it seemed, they'd have to "reinvent" their winning model. It was a hard decision on Wargaming's part, he says, but one he's glad the company agreed to.
Halo Franchise Reaches a New Sales Milestone
The Halo franchise has reached a new sales milestone on Xbox platforms.
On a schedule announcement for Comic-Con 2015, Microsoft confirmed the sci-fi shooter franchise had sold over 65 million units collectively throughout its lifetime across its three different Xbox consoles.
These sales are likely to have recently been bolstered by the success of Halo 4 and the release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and the franchise's popularity suggests this year's Halo 5: Guardians will raise them even higher when it releases on October 27, 2015 for the Xbox One. .
New Secret Wars & Justice League This Week
We all want the best of the best, so let us point out the hottest comics and collectibles released each week. We spotlight our favorite comics that we know are money-well-spent, new books that look cool, and any toys we can't wait to play with.
Check out our picks, then take to the comments to let us know what looks good to you!
Written by Robert Venditti & Drawn by Robert Gill & Doug Braithwaite | Valiant
Watch the New Suicide Squad Trailer!
After a crappy, fan-recorded version of it was (illegally) posted online, Warner Bros. has released the official version of the Suicide Squad sizzle reel that was shown at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday.
Yes, you can now watch it in high-definition! Behold Margot Robbie's transfixing Harley Quinn, Jared Leto's frightening Joker, Viola Davis' badass Amanda Waller, Will Smith's Deadshot, Jai Courntey's Captain Boomerang and the rest of Task Force X in the video below!
The studio was none too happy about the leak. Here's a statement from Sue Kroll, President Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures:
“Warner Bros. Pictures and our anti-piracy team have worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours to contain the Suicide Squad footage that was pirated from Hall H on Saturday. We have been unable to achieve that goal. Today we will release the same footage that has been illegally circulating on the web, in the form it was created and high quality with which it was intended to be enjoyed. We regret this decision as it was our intention to keep the footage as a unique experience for the Comic Con crowd, but we cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation.”
Out This Week: July 13, 2015
With so many new games and movies coming out, it can be hard to keep up. Lucky for you, IGN is here to help with a weekly round-up of the biggest releases each and every week. Check out the latest releases for this week, and be sure to come back next Monday for a new update.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Wi-Fi Garbage Cans Deliver Free Internet to New York City
A waste management company is looking to put a positive spin on New York City's garbage problem by turning garbage and recycling bins into wi-fi hotspots.
BigBelly has manufactured solar-powered "smart" garbage cans that contain sensors to alert people when they're near full. Since the cans are self-sustainable, the company figured it'd make the bins even more useful than mere repositories by installing Wi-Fi units in them to provide free access to the internet all around the city.
Working with New York's Downtown Alliance, BigBelly has placed these units within many of the 170 smart bins installed around the city. Results have shown the bins are capable of a bandwidth of 50 to 75 megabits per second.
Daily Deals: Cowboy Bebop, $320 Xbox One, Rare Replay
If you just want the lowest price possible on an Xbox One, here's a $30 discount on the Xbox One Assassin's Creed: Unity bundle.
An Xbox One With Two Controllers and Two Games
Here's the 500GB Xbox One with a second controller plus Halo: MCC and Assassin's Creed Unity. I love a second controller as a freebie since they never drop in price like games do.
App Store Update: July 13
Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Agent Awesome – ($1.99)
"Declared the best Tactical Assassination game of the universe by the developers themselves, Agent Awesome is a brand new comedy game based on the true story of Agent A.
11 Memorable Satoru Iwata Quotes
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata passed away this weekend, leading to an outpouring of emotion and admiration from friends, business competitors, admirers, and nearly everyone else from all corners of the video game industry.
Iwata was a rare corporate president that came from a programming and game design background. As a result, he had a unique perspective on how video games shape our culture, and the role games have in influencing and entertaining young and old around the world.